I decided three years ago that I wanted to try breeding Bettas. Since then I have been doing EXTENSIVE research into the subject. Initially, I wanted to breed Halfmoon Bettas, but read that for beginner breeders Halfmoons tend to be pretty difficult and an average spawn usually only results in 10% of the fry having Halfmoon tails. I then decided that Halfmoon Plakats were a better option for my first spawn. My question is, if I breed a sibling pair of Halfmoon Plakats, how many will result in Halfmoon Plakats? I haven't found an answer to this anywhere, which may be because it is a fairly basic question, but I want to be absolutely sure that I know what I am getting myself into before trying anything.

Also, since I'm on the subject of my breeding project, I might as well ask another question: Can the "Koi" colored Bettas be entered into shows? They are classified as marbles are they not? Here is an example of what I am talking about: http://upic.me/i/y4/fwbettashmp1249315535.jpg. Once I have established a solid line and bred some decent fish I would love to get them into competition. Watch out Betta World, Zara came to play!

In case anyone is interested: In the spring I am hoping to import a breeding pair of "Koi" (red/orange/white/black marble) Halfmoon Plakats from Thailand and breeding them. Hopefully I will get some breeding/show quality fry. Wish me luck!

I don't know where you got the impression that you only get 10% with Halfmoon tails from a Halfmoon spawn. It just depends on the genetic background of the parent Bettas. A good HM line should produce 85% to 90% HM offspring. The same goes for Halfmoon Plakats. They are no more difficult long fin or short fin. If you read that Halfmoons are more difficult for begining breeders, only produce 10% halfmoon offspring and you've done extensive research for three years I think you've been reading wrong statistics and bad advice and not looking in the right place for your research. There are plenty of good articles on breeding and raising Bettas. You just have to combine them all and use what works best for you. Those Koi Bettas are gorgeous and yes they would be classified as Marble. Be careful who you buy from and be really careful who you ask and who you listen to for advice.

10% was one of the extreme percentages that I had read about. I had read others that said 40-50% and some that said 90%. I assumed it had to do with genetics, but I thought it would be best to ask someone directly and emphasize the 10% since that seemed extreme and I really wanted it to be disproven. I wish I could find the website that had this information. I just quickly jotted it down in my notebook about 6 months ago. I'm glad to hear that with proper breeding such low Halfmoon tail-types can be avoided. I will definitely asking the breeder many questions before purchasing.

It's a little early, I was planning on buying a pair in April, but these two beauties (especially the female) just came up on Aquabid. The seller has great reviews. I'm going to send him/her a message and ask if these two are from the same spawn and what their parents looked like, etc.

Female:

Male:
(He has a little chunk missing out of his fins. I will also be asking if he has always had that or if it is just an injury from the grow-out tank.)

This could be my pair! I'm in love with the female!

Any critiques anyone with experience? Are these a good foundation pair or should I keep looking? What would you say needs improvement in these two, especially if I wanted to eventually get show-quality fry.

NBbetta, I do not raise bettas, never have, but have had tanks since 1980, and always have had a betta....just wanted to say, that first betta is a beauty!! I couldn't stop smiling when I saw her, and I usually have that response only for special angelfish. wow!

I like the orange and black one in the back ground as well. But that female is just a little gem! She is exactly what I am looking for. I like the male too, though I think that there could be better. It would be nice to be able to buy from the same breeder and avoid two shipping costs!

Very pretty. I am no pro at show fish, but it seems to me like the male's anal fin is too short and the ventrals are a bit small. If you want to enter shows, get the best quality show fish you can. If I was you, I would be joining a bettas only forum. That is where a lot of the show breeders are like basement bettas. If you want to get really nice fish for cheap, find a breeder and ask them how much they want for their culls.

Very pretty. I am no pro at show fish, but it seems to me like the male's anal fin is too short and the ventrals are a bit small. If you want to enter shows, get the best quality show fish you can. If I was you, I would be joining a bettas only forum. That is where a lot of the show breeders are like basement bettas. If you want to get really nice fish for cheap, find a breeder and ask them how much they want for their culls.

And yes, Basement Bettas has gorgeous fish. I've read a lot from her website/blog. She is like my Betta Breeding idol!

I really want to get on bettafish.com, but my activation link won't work. I've notified the administration, so hopefully that will be resolved soon.

I do want really nice fish, but the for cheap part isn't a big issue. It definitely wouldn't be turned away. I'd love to save money where I can, but I'm not going to skimp on my initial stock. I want to build strong foundation lines and I won't let cost come in the way of that. I'm especially fortunate because I have an "investor" who wants to put a minimum of $500 toward my breeding project. We are going to talk about it more in 25 days when he comes home from work (he is two provinces over right now and wants to be involved in the process). Alas, the pretty female will have to go to someone else.

As for the dragon male that you posted a link to, he is definitely a beauty. I have a Halfmoon dragon myself from Bettalogue Quebec. I paid a pretty penny to get him shipped to me. But I would really like to work with marbles, especially the ones that look like Koi.

Now that you have pointed out the potential problems with the male and shown me the other male I see where the marble's flaws are. That's unfortunate, but it works out since I won't be able to purchase stock for at least another 25 days. I'll have to keep my eyes on Aquabid... But geeze that female is a beaut.

Go to bettasource.com. Sheroln Craig (basement bettas) who is also running for president of the IBC (go sherolyn) is a co founder of the forum with mike mcbrien. Honestly, I have checked out other betta forums, and this one is the best I have seen. Ultimate bettas was a little annoying and they give you a rotten reputation. Mine was like -36 when they crashed. I am not claiming to be a pro at show fish, but I did check out bettas4all show standards. The female is very pretty. I'd get her for a pet if I wasn't in to imbellis so much. Btw, you should definitely try getting some other splendens complex members. Don't miss out on them. Imbellis are the most pretty of the splendens complex IMO.

Bettasource has a lot of breeders on it. Blackwater betta and pibk are both members. I even found someone who lives 30 minutes from me who has mahachaiensis, imbellis, black imbellis, smaragdina, and black smaragdina.